Painting is landmark study of author Jane Austen at Godmersham Park
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by Adam Williams
awilliams@thekmgroup.co.uk
This humble painting depicting a family dinner is believed to
show Jane Austen aged just five.
Sold at auction at Godmersham Park almost 28 years ago, mystery
still surrounds the buyer of the alleged earliest recorded picture
of the author.
Called Conversation Piece, it is believed to have been painted
by Ozias Humphry in 1780.
Sat around the dining table with the rest of her family is the
young lady who would later write some of most revered stories in
the history of English literature.
Sold in June 1983 for just £172, Jane Austen fanatics are keen
to solve the riddle of the mystery buyer.
Anne Rice, owner of The Rice Portrait by Humphry showing a
14-year-old Austen, came across Conversation Piece while
researching her own family’s collection.
She said: “Whoever bought it in 1983, probably did so without
even knowing who was in it, which is why it went for such a cut
price.
“Very little detail was handed over to Christie’s about what had
been left in Godmersham Park by the former owner Elsie Tritton.
"She and her husband Robert bought the estate in 1936 and
collected all kinds of stuff, but everything inside there went
within three days.”
Austen lived and wrote some of her famous stories from the
grounds of Godmersham Park.
Anne’s late husband Henry Rice, son of Edward and Marcella Rice
of Dane Court, near Broadstairs, is believed to be a sixth
generation descendant of Jane Austen’s brother Edward.
The family portrait of Austen failed to sell at a New York
auction in 2007 following doubts over its authenticity.
Henry died last January, aged 81, and Anne and brother Robin
Roberts began researching other works by Ozias Humphry.
She added: “We’re intrigued to know where it ended up, to see
what condition it’s in and have a good look at it. The owner might
still be none the wiser about who’s in it.
“It could be somebody who lives just a stone’s throw away from
Godmersham Park or they could be on the other side of the world by
now.”
Do you recognise the painting or know who might own it
today? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk
tweet us @KentishGazette or write to Gazette House, 5-8
Boorman Way, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT5
3SE.
Tuesday, May 24 2011
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